According to the IOSCO hedge fund survey, Cayman is the domicile of choice owning 53% of the global hedge fund industry. How is CIMA, undisputedly the world's leading hedge fund regulator, dealing with funds that have identified their investment strategy as being related to cryptocurrencies?

The regulator is foremost concerned about the AML/CFT aspect where the focus is all around establishing the actual owner or investor. Says CIMA's Heather Smith: "Cryptocurrencies are similar to bearer shares in our view in that whoever holds it owns it. There is of course the distributed ledger technology, whereby it is said that all transactions using this technology can be tracked and ownership all the way through the process established. However, there are still some questions remaining, even when such technology and cryptocurrencies exchanges are involved - what happens as persons move in and out of these exchanges? Is due diligence undertaken each time?"

"There is also the issue of valuation. We have all seen the wild fluctuations in the value of these cryptocurrencies. Are valuation agents equipped to accurately value such products?"

CIMA accepts that the cryptocurrencies, ICOs and FinTech are generally here to stay, and so this Roundtable also covers CIMA's position and questions around ICOs and RegTech. The Opalesque 2018 Cayman Roundtable took place in Georgetown, Cayman Islands, with:

What does CIMA expect from financial service providers in a risk based approach to AML/CFT? Why is a risk-based approach to supervision and enforcement achievable in the Cayman Islands in a way which is simply not possible for larger jurisdictions? (page 5-7)

What is SupTech? (page 8)

How is custody of assets for a cryptocurrency fund different to a standard fund? (page 10)

Crypto funds, ICOs and Governance: The role for independent directors (page 13)

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